Dreamtime at the ‘G expected to pull a huge crowd with Essendon and Richmond in form
A CROWD of up to 90,000 is expected to attend Saturday night’s Dreamtime at the ‘G clash in what has been labelled the ultimate “war of the sash”.
AFL News
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A CROWD of up to 90,000 is expected to attend Saturday night’s Dreamtime at the ‘G match between Richmond and Essendon in what has been labelled the ultimate “war of the sash”.
The Tigers and Bombers both hold 5-4 records entering the MCG clash, which has become one of the biggest events on the football calendar since its inception in 2005.
Celebrating the contribution of indigenous Australians to football, the game attracted a crowd of 49,975 in its first year but has since grown significantly.
TICKED OFF: CAN YOU BELIEVE DUSTY NON-50 EXPLANATION?
SUPERLADDER: RICHMOND WARNED: BEWARE OF BOMBERS
STATS DON’T LIE: HOW GOOD IS DANIHER’S KICKING?
Some 84,234 fans attended in 2013 while 83,804 moved through the turnstiles in 2015 before attendance was down last year due to Essendon’s poor performances with 12 senior players suspended for the 2016 season.
However, former Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy — the brainchild of the match — said with both teams again up and firing, Saturday night shaped as the biggest Dreamtime game yet.
“With Richmond going down in a couple of close ones and Essendon coming off wins over Geelong and West Coast, it’s going to be massive,” Sheedy said.
“This will be the war of the sash.
“It’s great for footy. I hope they do get 90,000 because it’s all about celebrating this journey of bringing indigenous players back into the game.”
Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale said the a huge crowd is expected.
“This game has grown enormously over the past 13 years and is now recognised as one of the highlights of the AFL season,” he said.
“Ticket sales are extremely strong and we would expect a crowd pushing into the mid-80s - whether it gets past the Anzac Day Eve and Anzac Day game crowds remains to be seen but it is a possibility.
“Either way it will be an outstanding occasion and a fitting celebration of the role Australian rules football has built a bridge between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia.”
Sheedy said AFL clubs had for too long overlooked indigenous players, who were put in the ‘too hard’ basket often due to issues relocating to capital cities.
But he said the incredible heights reached by former Essendon champion Michael Long and former St Kilda star Nicky Winmar had brought about change for the better in the past 30 years.
“Since Michael Long and Nicky Winmar came back and restarted indigenous players in the AFL in the middle to late 80s, there was about 28 or 30 players who played in the VFL before then and 330 since have signed,” Sheedy said.
“How many best-and-fairests have they won? Brownlows? Colemans? When you line it up on one page compared to what the negatives were, how wrong were we?
“How did we not see that talent for 100 years and make it happen? I’m talking about everybody in the game.”
BIGGEST DREAMTIME CROWDS
2013: 84,234
2015: 83,804
2011: 83,563
2012: 81,200
2014: 74,664
BIGGEST CROWDS THIS YEAR
Round 5, Essendon v Collingwood: 87,685
Round 5, Richmond v Melbourne: 85,657
Round 1, Essendon v Hawthorn: 78,294
Round 1, Carlton v Richmond: 73,137
Round 7, Collingwood v Carlton: 70,279
‘Cue outrage’: Danger calls for drastic change
The AFL is about commence to its most lucrative broadcasting deal ever and one of the game’s superstars has demanded a change.
Where ex-AFL players will feature in 2025
After their time at the top level came to an end, ex-AFL footballers across the country have found their new clubs. See where every delisted player and retired star will play in 2025.